NASHVILLE, Tenn.-- Tennessee sauntered out to a slow start but closed the night
on a strong note Saturday at the SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships at
Vanderbilt Track in Nashville, Tenn.

Though the race has tightened considerably throughout the top four, the
Volunteers still hold the lead with 48 points after the third day of the
nation's toughest conference championships. Favorite Arkansas stands second
with 44 points. Florida has nestled close in third with 40 points. Auburn
remains within striking distance in fourth with 32 points.

"We had a nice finish with Eric Pierce's lifetime best in a tough long jump
competition," head coach Bill Webb said. "Jeff Day had a huge lifetime best
in the steeplechase. He really stepped up and filled the bill there. Chris
Wilson scrapped for a point in the high jump.

Jeff Day contributed the best race of his life to help Tennessee counter the
loss of additional points in the steeplechase. Day finished third after
running the 3,000-meter test of hurdles, water and pain in 8:56.29, about a
seven-second improvement to his lifetime best and a regional qualifier. With
six laps left to go Day ranked eighth. With just one lap to go Day still hung
back in seventh, but the sophomore mounted a final charge to take third.
Day's finish netted six points and helped the Volunteers maintain the team
lead entering the final day.

"It was the gutsiest and smartest race I've run at Tennessee," Day said. "I
stayed back farther and slowly progressed. My goal was to get top five, but
my strategy worked really well. Coach (George) Watts said to go out smart and
not too hard to slowly get into a groove. I was coming through each split
faster than I had planned. I was in eighth at one point and slowly they came
back to me. Coach Watts said to leave something for the last 600 (meters),
and I sure did that. I'm ecstatic about my performance.

However, the other three Vol steeplechasers had a tougher go of it. Team
leader Zach Sabatino took 11th with a 9:24.56 time. Doug Brown finished 12th
with a 9:27.22 effort. Tyler DeVault earned 15th with a 9:36.78 time.

Eric Pierce stood as the Vols' second-highest scorer on the day with his
fourth-place, five-point performance down the sand pit. Pierce rode his first
of six jumps to a lifetime-best leap of 24-10 ½, also a regional qualifier.

"I feel good about my PR (personal record)," Pierce said. "Going almost 25
feet was my goal before the season, and I'm about there. I had two big fouls
at the end, but fouls don't count. I had a little cramping problem, but I
feel good now and am ready for the triple jump.

Halls grad Chris Wilson scored a point in the high jump after finishing
eighth. Wilson matched his season-best 6-8 ¾ clearance on his third and final
attempt to scrap for the point and post his best SEC finish. Drew Brunson
placed 10th after clearing 6-6 ¾.

While both Wilson and Brunson had finished their competition, a severe weather
delay, a longstanding SEC outdoor championships tradition, arrived at 2:37
p.m. CT., during the high jump. Before competition was suspended, the SEC
member flags flying outside the track's curve rippled at attention as the wind
picked up and whipped through the tulip poplars separating the track from the
warm-up field. Shortly after the delay torrents of rain and lightning
confirmed the wisdom of suspending the meet. Athletes, coaches, officials and
fans waited through a four-hour, four-minute delay. At 6:41 p.m. CT, the high
jump resumed. During the national anthem at 7 p.m. the sun made its welcome
reappearance hanging low in the western sky.

The weather delay forced a juggling of the schedule, in which the postponement
of the men's pole vault from Saturday until Sunday affected Tennessee the
most.

In prelim action, Aries Merritt posted the day's fastest 110 hurdles qualifier
with a blistering 13.45 personal-best performance. Merritt's time ranks third
this year in the NCAA, eighth among all Americans (collegiate and
professional) and 10th in the world. Merritt improved his hold on the fourth
spot on Tennessee's all-time 110 hurdles list. Only Willie Gault (13.26),
Jabari Greer (13.32) and Justin Gatlin (13.41) have ever run faster while
donning the orange.

After a disappointing high jump, Brunson evened out his day by finishing
eighth in the 110 hurdles prelims and reserving a lane in the final.
Brunson's time of 14.03 stands as his lifetime best and a regional qualifier.
Clarksville's Damond Campbell finished 12th in the 110 hurdles prelims with a
14.18 regional qualifier. Co-captain Robert Boulware ranked 13th with a 14.21
regional qualifier. Cade Liverman finished 16th in the 110 hurdles prelims
after running a 14.45 time.

True freshman Rubin Williams followed a splendid 200 on Friday with a solid
100 prelim Saturday. Williams finished sixth in the prelims with a
regional-qualifying 10.47 time to reserve a lane in the finals. Jonathan Wade
finished 14th with a 10.62 time. Freshman Matthieu Pritchett finished 21st in
11.31.

Chris Platt lopped nearly six seconds off his previous lifetime best to
survive the 1,500 prelims. Platt finished 11th with a time of 3:50.29 to
qualify for Sunday's final. Kenny Schappert offered up a personal-best
3:53.31 to finish 13th, but only the top 12 advanced to the final.

In the discus, the first event of the morning, Jim Sexton finished 11th with a
156-8 fling. Garland Porter took 14th with a 151-7 mark.

The SEC championships close Sunday with 14 finals and an avalanche of points
on the line.